Monday, January 01, 2007

PATRIOTS GET MAD AND EVEN

Patriots, enraged about Bobby Wade's dirty knee cutter on Rodney Harrison, have Vinny T throw the ball to run it up in the 4th quarter.

“It was a dirty play. He wasn’t just trying to block me. He dove at my knees intentionally. He was trying to hurt me. The whole play was dirty.”

-Hard Hittin' Rodney Harrison

"Patriots players were particularly incensed at Titans coach Jeff Fisher, whom they believed winked and smiled toward the field after Harrison was injured. Linebacker TedyBruschi [stats] charged the Titans sideline before being restrained.Bruschi declined comment, and Fisher apologized, “if there was a misunderstanding.”

Harrison wasn’t having any of it.“It was a dirty play,” he reiterated. “I don’t even know the guy (Wade). I don’t even know him. But their whole offensive line is dirty. Their whole offense is dirty. They’re a dirty team.”Incensed, the Patriots [team stats] went for the jugular. They left their starters in for most of the game and let Vinny Testaverde [stats] throw a 6-yard touchdown to Troy Brown [stats] with 1:45 left." (Herald)

Some teams, notably Mike Shanahan's Denver Broncos, teach a technically, or at least gray area of legal but dirty strategy broadly labeled as "cut blocking" on offense. Offensive players dive low at the backs of defensive player's legs near the line, making it tough to detect. In the open field, players aim at or below the knees, which is what happened to Rodney. Or, even worse and riskier to the offensive player:Two players will go high and low on a defensive lineman, brushing close to an illegal block, with the low player going after the calves of the defensive player. Remember that playground prank, when one friend would crouch low behind you and another would push you? Think of that in high speed, delivered from an NFL linebacker.

'86 WAS A HEEP OF TROUBLE

In 1986 Danny Heep became the first player in a World Series to be a designated hitter (DH) with the initials "D.H."

THAT'S SPELLED S-O-X

In the four major US professional sports, (Baseball, Basketball, Football, and Hockey), there are only seven teams whose nicknames do not end with an "S:" Basketball: The Miami Heat, The Utah Jazz, The Orlando Magic. Baseball: The Boston Red Sox, The Chicago White Sox. Hockey: The Colorado Avalanche, The Tampa Bay Lightning. Football: None.